Intralinks Deal Flow IndicatorOur quarterly review of future trends in the global M&A market

Q1 2014

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Contents

Introduction

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IntralinksDeal Flow Indicator

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Regional Snapshot: Asia-Pacific

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Regional Snapshot: Latin America

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Spotlight: TMT

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North America

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Guest Comment: The French

M&A Climate

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EMEA

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Industry Indicators

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About the Intralinks DFI

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Intralinks Contacts

26Overview

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Introduction

Welcome to the latest installment of the Intralinks Deal Flow Indicator (DFI) report, brought to you in association with Remark, the Mergermarket Group’s research and publications arm. The Intralinks DFI tracks pre-announcement early-stage M&A deals (sell-side M&A mandates and deals reaching due diligence) across the world, providing a unique predictor of future global M&A activity levels.

Intralinks Deal Flow Indicator – Q1 2014

Intralinks has been the leading global provider of virtual data rooms for over 16 years, and our involvement in the early stages of M&A deals allows us to keep a finger on the pulse of today’s rapidly changing M&A market. The Intralinks DFI has been independently verified as an accurate predictor of future changes in the global volume of announced M&A transactions, with percentage changes in the Intralinks DFI data typically reflected in announced deal volumes approximately six months later.

The current Intralinks DFI findings reveal conflicting trends. On the one hand, quarter-on-quarter (QoQ) data indicates that early-stage M&A dipped by almost 1% in Q1 2014 compared to Q4 2013, with a 6% decrease in activity in North America balanced by a 5% increase in EMEA and a 10% increase in APAC. Given that EMEA and APAC together

account for 70% of global announced M&A activity, and that EMEA is approximately 30% larger in terms of deal volume than North America, the Intralinks DFI data indicates that announced M&A activity in Q3 of 2014 will likely be flat when compared to Q2 of 2014 – a not unexpected seasonal result. On the other hand, however, when comparing year-on-year (YoY) figures, the first quarter of 2014 saw early-stage M&A activity increase by 16% compared to Q1 2013, with increases across all four regions tracked by the Intralinks DFI, indicating that announced M&A deal volumes this year will likely be more robust than in 2013.

In terms of announced activity, the current M&A story is resoundingly positive: the number of announced M&A deals in Q1 2014 was up 2% YoY, while the value of deals announced during the period shot up by 39% to US$625.3bn.

According to this data, and as we predicted in the last Intralinks DFI report, 2014 is proving to be a watershed for the return of M&A.

The strong showing of announced M&A activity in Q1 2014 is due to a handful of fundamental and positive shifts. First, there are signs that corporate confidence is once again returning to higher levels, empowering corporates to pursue acquisitions. Second, factors such as greater credit availability have rendered deals easier to complete, thus further helping turn investor confidence into action.

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Introduction (continued)

Not only has M&A activity increased, but it also appears to be healthier than in previous quarters. Private equity, for instance, saw a 10% increase in both volume and value of deals in Q1 2014. Yet, this growth was not fuelled by the secondary buyout wave of the last few years, but rather by a move towards strategic exits to corporate players. The life sciences sector also saw an M&A resurgence thanks to a raft of healthcare policy changes in Europe and the US that appear to be encouraging consolidation. Finally, some countries are seeing an about-turn and renewed focus on dealmaking, with South Korea, for instance, having its strongest quarter in terms of M&A activity since the financial crisis.

All this good news may lead many to believe that 2014 will prove to be the year of recovery for M&A. Several key issues, however, could hamper future M&A growth. Political instability, for example, is a key corporate concern, and one currently in the public eye due to the ongoing tensions surrounding Russia and Ukraine. Additionally, while conditions for a

Matt Porzio VP of strategy & product marketing, Intralinks

return to higher levels of M&A activity appear to be present, the robustness of the global economic recovery, the timing of future interest rate increases and the gradual tightening of monetary policy in the US and elsewhere (with the reduction in quantitative easing programs) will continue to be key themes underlining corporate deal-making decisions.

In order to benefit from the still rapidly changing M&A climate, companies should not get too far ahead of themselves. While it is reassuring that investor confidence now appears to be translating into increased deal numbers, doing the right deal is always better than just doing any deal, even when the pressure is on to take action.

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Global Intralinks DFI Index

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Overview

The Intralinks DFI shows a flat level of early-stage activity in Q1 2014 compared to Q4 2013, with a decline of less than 1% QoQ, a not unexpected seasonal result. YoY, early-stage activity increased by almost 16%.

Yet, the story told by deals announced in Q1 2014 is much more positive: the volume of M&A activity edged up 2% YoY to 3,353 deals and value jumped 39% to US$625.3bn. These findings point to a rejuvenated appetite for growth through acquisitions, which will likely inspire the still hesitant market players to follow suit.

Private equity (PE) also rebounded in Q1 2014: both deal volume and value saw increases of 10% to 796 deals and US$173.6bn, respectively. This growth comes after several years of flat PE activity, leading many observers to believe that PE firms would exit investments made in the boom years, a belief that, has just started to materialize. When firms did look to exit during the quarter, they often did so through secondary buyouts, in which ownership passes from one PE house to another. This approach was often attributed to a dearth of strategic buyers willing to pay premiums, which PE houses needed in order to recoup their oft-steep investment costs.

While secondary buyouts maintained pace in Q1 2014, the biggest deals of the year involved strategic buyers or sellers. For example, Anheuser-Busch InBev purchased South Korea’s Oriental Brewery from Kohlberg Kravis Roberts and Affinity Equity Partners for US$5.8bn. The deal is expected to help the Belgian brewer extend its reach into Asia-Pacific while also expanding Oriental Brewery’s international footprint. Following the transaction, Anheuser-Busch InBev

INTRALINKS DFI up 16% YoY

2013Q1

2014Q1

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Overview (continued)

announced that Cass, one of Oriental Brewery’s brands, will become an official sponsor of the FIFA 2014 World Cup, to be held in Brazil later this year.

It seems that more corporates are looking at M&A as a way to grow. In recent years, while deal value for announced M&A activity has increased, volume has often remained flat – pointing to large-cap activity being primarily concentrated in outlier transactions. M&A was perceived to be too risky, even though the broader economic picture was improving and many corporates have been sitting on large unused cash balances. It seems that reduced fears of another global economic dip are encouraging companies to do M&A transactions sooner rather than later, to avoid missing out on the recovery that is gathering pace. That, coupled with many developed countries’ continued return to economic growth in 2014, has helped spur M&A.

Part of this positive shift may be due to corporates’ ability to access financing, although improvement in the lending markets has been patchy. In the US, the loan markets have improved, with direct lenders also firmly entrenched as viable alternatives. Meanwhile, in the EU, bank lending remains flat (with fewer corporates even applying for it), while direct lending is still in its infancy.

Taking a look at specific industries, five of the ten biggest deals of Q1 2014 took place in the technology, media and telecommunications (TMT) sector, where volume and value rose 5% YoY to 542 deals, and 70% to US$179.9bn, respectively.

However, notable activity is taking place in other industries as well. For instance, the life sciences sector was buoyant in Q1 2014, largely due to a bout of

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consolidation in the US and Western Europe following changes to healthcare laws. Within this sector, volume in Q1 2014 grew 11% YoY to 255 deals and value increased more than fourfold to US$63.4bn. In the US, the Affordable Care Act continues to catalyze M&A: the new legislation is depressing a reimbursement rate that, in turn, places more importance on cost-saving efficiencies. In Britain, changes to the National Health System – in which more private sector involvement has recently been allowed – have paved the way for consolidation among healthcare providers. To best position themselves in this rapidly changing landscape, many pharmaceuticals firms have also turned to M&A to achieve economies of scale.

Although 2014 has already seen a number of bulge-bracket deals in the life sciences sector, one in particular was responsible for the sizeable increase in value: Ireland-based pharmaceuticals firm Actavis’ purchase of Forest Laboratories, a rival based in the US. The US$23.1bn deal is a transformative one, as Actavis is the world’s second-largest generic drug maker and its acquisition of Forest Laboratories was its biggest purchase to date. If the deal is completed, the joined up business will offer a range of prescription and generic drugs, mainly to European and US markets.

While M&A growth through much of 2013 was largely confined to sector-specific trends, 2014 has exhibited more macro signs of country-wide turns toward dealmaking. For instance, South Korea had its strongest quarter in terms of M&A activity since the financial downturn, a phenomenon that may be linked to the country’s relatively strong economic growth, with the International Monetary Fund forecasting real GDP growth at 3.7% in 2014. South Korea’s anticipated

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Intralinks DFI volume share – top eight industries

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growth, coupled with a stable political environment, is leading both domestic and international investors to search for opportunities within the country. As much of this activity has been spurred by private equity buyers, some analysts have posited that South Korea’s corporates have now come to recognize private equity as an accessible and useful form of funding. In one of the biggest deals of Q1 2014, US-based PE house Carlyle Group bought out the South Korean security arm of Tyco International for US$1.9bn. This is the single largest private equity transaction in South Korea in more than five years and was only one of 17 investments that Carlyle has made in the country since the end of 2013.

Although the broader picture is indeed rosier, there are factors in specific regions that could put a dampener on M&A activity in 2014. One of these is the still unknown end-game in the political dispute between Russia and Ukraine, and what Russia’s intentions are regarding other Eastern European countries with significant ethnic Russian minorities. Several important European countries, most notably Germany, have strong economic ties to Russia and any escalation of the dispute may have negative consequences both economically and for deal-making in Europe. Cross-border M&A activity involving Russia is certain to be badly affected until the crisis is resolved, however Russia accounted for only 9% of EMEA target announced M&A by value in 2013 and on its own is unlikely to seriously hinder global M&A activity overall.

2014 has started on a bright note. Although M&A activity in 2014 may not reach the sustained and dizzying heights of the mid-2000s, it seems that a steady string of transactions involving companies of all sizes will continue over the next few quarters.

Financial Services Manufacturing/Industrial Professional &

Business Services

Energy Other Life Sciences

Consumer Technology

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Intralinks Deal Flow Indicator

North America

-6% QoQ11% YoY11% LTM change

Latin America

-9% QoQ13% YoY9% LTM change

EMEA

5% QoQ21% YoY23% LTM change

Asia Pacific

10% QoQ18% YoY

20% LTM change

-1% QoQ16% YoY16% Last 12 MONtH (LtM) cHaNge

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North America saw a 6% QoQ decline in early-stage M&A activity in Q1 2014 compared to Q4 2013, indicating that there may be a dip in announced activity in Q3 this year compared to Q2. YoY, early-stage activity increased by 11%.

Still, a number of sectors in North America have experienced a strong start to 2014. The consumer sector, for instance, has been relatively quiet following the global financial downturn, not a surprising phenomenon given the intimate links between consumer behavior and economic performance. Yet, Q1 2014 saw increased activity in that sector in North America.

The biggest consumer deal of the past quarter involved a Japanese buyer: family-owned whiskey and beer maker Suntory Holdings announced plans to purchase US-based distiller Beam, maker of Jim Beam and Maker’s Mark, for US$15.4bn. The deal will make Suntory Holdings the world’s third largest distiller and will substantially enhance its portfolio of drinks popular outside of Japan. A handful of other high-profile deals in North America also involved Japanese buyers, with all other buyers in the top 20 consumer deals located either in North America or Western Europe. This spate of deals may be due to slowing consumer markets at home, with Japanese businesses searching for growth abroad. Overall in North America, strong consumer sector activity looks likely to continue, with the Intralinks DFI registering a 213% YoY boost in consumer sector deals reaching the due diligence phase in Q1 2014.

Regional Snapshot: North America

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Regional Snapshot:

North America (continued)

The financial services sector, which has also seen limited growth in recent years mainly because of deleveraging by banks to comply with new regulations around capital adequacy, also exhibited positive growth this past quarter. Announced activity in Q1 2014 reveals that many firms are now making ambitious buys in order to expand their market presence. In the biggest deal of Q1 2014, Switzerland’s Mercuria Energy Group Holding made public plans to buy JP Morgan Chase’s physical commodities business, based in the US. With this US$3.5bn transaction, Mercuria Energy will become a bigger player on the commodity trading landscape.

According to the Intralinks DFI, other sectors in North America primed for growth in future quarters are manufacturing/industrials, technology, TME and real estate, all of which show high double, or even triple, digit, growth in early stage M&A activity.

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According to the Intralinks DFI, EMEA-based deals reaching the due diligence stage increased by 5% QoQ. YoY, early-stage activity increased by almost 21%. This indicates that the region’s recovery may be sustained well into 2014.

One sector that has seen substantial growth in announced activity in EMEA is the consumer sector. Volume grew 6% to 213 deals, while value jumped 56% to US$19.7bn. In the biggest EMEA-based consumer deal of the quarter, and the second largest worldwide, France-based L’Oreal bought back 8% of its stock from Nestle, a Swiss consumer goods company, for US$8.2bn. As part of the deal, Nestle will assume control of Galderma, the skincare company that was formerly jointly owned by both Nestle and L’Oreal. The stake sale gives L’Oreal increased control over its ownership structure and will also help Nestle further raise its profile in the healthcare and nutrition business.

There was also large-cap activity in non-EU countries, pointing to consolidation in the consumer sector more broadly. For instance, LetterOne purchased a minority stake in Russia’s Altimo for US$1.2bn from private investor Gleb Fetisov, who is selling many of his holdings in order to pursue a political career. LetterOne, the Luxembourg-based holding company of Russia’s Alfa Group, will further its telecommunications assets through the purchase.

It is also worth highlighting that M&A in some of Europe’s more beleaguered economies is on the rise. For instance, in Q1 2014, announced dealmaking in Spain increased in both volume and value. Several of these large-cap deals took place in the real estate sector, a sign that this space, which has seen its share of challenges recently, is beginning to improve. In the largest of these deals, US-based private

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equity firm Apollo Global Management and sovereign wealth fund Canada Pension Plan Investment Board purchased an 85% stake in property manager Altamira Asset Management from Banco Santander. The US$903m deal is the largest of its kind since the Eurozone crisis. This deal comes on the back of other Europe-based banks deleveraging their real estate assets in order to help free up cash to comply with next year’s banking “health check” by regulators.

Regional Snapshot: EMEA (continued)

Video linkDeal drivers in Germany: panel discussion at Mergermarket’s German M&A and Private Equity Forum 2014

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In Asia-Pacific, Q1 2014 early-stage M&A activity, as tracked by the Intralinks DFI, increased 10% QoQ and 18% YoY. The QoQ increase seen in Q1 2014 is an encouraging sign, following the two consecutive QoQ declines in early-stage activity seen in Q3 and Q4 2013.

The uptick in deals reaching the due diligence phase was complemented by a strong quarter of announced activity in the Asia-Pacific region. While deal volume increased modestly (growing by 5.5%), deal value increased by 62%, rising from US$76.1bn to US$123.2bn. Accordingly, we are seeing strong activity across several industries and geographies.

The energy, mining and utilities sector in Asia-Pacific saw particularly high large-cap activity this past quarter, posting both volume and value gains in deal announcements. Somewhat unsurprisingly (given the region’s preponderance of both energy-rich and energy-hungry countries), oil and gas exploration deals dominated. But the largest energy, mining and utilities deal of the quarter involved an international bidder: Canada’s Baytex Energy announced plans to purchase Australia-based Aurora Oil and Gas. At US$2.2bn, the deal is the largest in heavy oil producer Baytex’s history and marks the company’s move towards light oil. The deal gives Baytex access to Aurora-owned Eagle Ford shale oil in Texas.

Another bustling sector in Asia-Pacific was real estate. China was particularly active, with the real estate sector consolidating in the wake of falling consumer private rentals. Impending regulatory changes mean that bank lending for the real

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Regional Snapshot: Asia-pacific (continued)

estate sector will become more constrained, so many firms may have hurried deals through while financing is still available. Asia-Pacific’s biggest real estate deal was designed to help access capital: Shanghai Jinfeng Investment purchased Shanghai Greenland for US$10.6bn in a reverse takeover. As Shanghai Greenland is publicly listed, while Shanghai Jinfeng Investment is not, this deal will enable the latter to access the capital markets. Although China-based real estate activity this past quarter was largely domestic, foreign firms will likely look to M&A opportunities in China as well, though they will find that having a local partner is vital to success in China’s real estate markets. This is particularly true given the forthcoming restrictions on lending to Chinese real estate businesses, as foreign investors will supply a source of capital in an otherwise scarce financing landscape.

Despite the optimistic news, broader economic turmoil may have a knock-on effect on M&A in the region. China, for instance, has seen its first-ever corporate bond default. As a number of outstanding high yield bonds are still outstanding, there is increasing uncertainty about guarantors’ abilities to meet missed payments, triggering fears that this could prompt investors to pull out of debt capital markets, resulting in a liquidity crunch. However, the broader impact of these defaults may be overstated, as Chinese bond markets remained stable in the immediate aftermath of the default.

Video linkChinese corporate governance: panel discussion at Mergermarket’s German M&A and Private Equity Forum 2014

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Q1 2014 saw the second consecutive QoQ decline in early-stage M&A activity in Latin America, with a 9% drop compared to Q4 2013. YoY, early-stage activity increased by 13%.

Major Latin American economies, in particular Brazil, have experienced slowdowns in recent years. That said, quality assets are still fetching premiums and interest continues coming from a steady stream of corporate and institutional investors alike. Indeed, many Latin American companies are now major players in their own right and are on the lookout for strategic buys.

A large portion of high-profile activity in Latin America was driven by foreign acquisitions – six of the top ten biggest deals of 2014 involve buyers from outside the region. Given the still-slow economic growth in many developed economies, it is understandable that many international buyers would hungrily snap up opportunities in fast-growing Latin American economies. For instance, Spanish utility Enagas purchased a minority stake in pipeline Transportadora de Gas del Peru for US$491m. The deal is in line with Enagas’ plan to invest more heavily in Latin America.

In Q1 2014, a number of sectors saw impressive increases in terms of announced activity. Technology, for instance, has grown apace as corporates are looking to gain competitive advantages by scooping up innovative technologies through M&A. In a US$1bn deal, Brazilian retailer Lojas Americanas and US-based hedge fund and private equity firm Tiger Global Management announced plans to buy a 37.5% stake in B2W Companhia Digital, Brazil’s biggest online retail platform. The deal

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further increases Lojas Americanas’ existing majority stake in the company. The injection of capital will also help B2W to pay down debt and, ultimately, expand.

Based on the Intralinks DFI findings, key sectors for early-stage Latin American M&A activity are consumer, energy and financial services.

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TMT SpotlightEven as M&A activity revs up, the TMT sector continues to stand out as a notable bright spot.

The TMT sector has seen breakaway growth in recent years and has exhibited strong upward trends in both value and volume. According to data from Mergermarket, the volume of deals in this sector increased 12% to 2,288 deals and the value of deals jumped 56% to US$516bn in 2013 as compared to 2012. This positive trajectory looks likely to continue in 2014: in Q1 2014, volume edged up 5% YoY to 542 deals, while value surged 70% to US$179.9bn.

Deal drivers There are a variety of factors driving deals in the TMT sector, including high-profile transactions taking place globally. However, it is worth noting that the biggest deals of 2013 and 2014 have thus far involved telecommunications carriers based in the US and Western Europe, a space that had previously been relatively unconsolidated given the size and maturity of the major competitors. Recently, some of these players have turned to M&A to enter new markets or acquire new offerings, such as fibre, broadband or services.

Ironically, many traditional fixed-line telecom providers are struggling to tap into customers’ use of mobile and tablet data usage, while those with a focus on mobile are looking to move into fixed lines to compensate for falling revenues. In a clear example of the latter, UK-based Vodafone announced plans to acquire Spain’s Grupo Corporativo ONO in Q1 2014. This US$10bn deal sees the wireless carrier moving to bolster its TV and broadband offering, as well as deepening its foothold in Spain.

Philip Whitchelo VP of strategy & product marketing

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TMT Spotlight (continued)

Meanwhile, some players in this space have looked to acquire more direct competitors to achieve economies of scale. The most obvious example in recent months is Comcast’s planned takeover of Time Warner Cable, both of which are based in the US. Should this planned US$68.5bn deal be approved by regulating bodies, the final product will result in Comcast/TWC owning roughly one third of the US cable TV market. The success of this deal is questionable though, given the public and political criticism that it would eliminate competition in the US market.

While the US regulatory environment offers no guarantee that pending TMT deals like Comcast/Time Warner Cable will be approved, Europe’s changing regulation has only increased the drive for consolidation. The European Commission has proposed to move Europe’s telecommunications industry from one based on national lines to one with a single market. Should this become a reality, receiving a license to operate in one EU country will enable a telecom business to operate throughout the EU. This announcement has in all likelihood spurred intra-European acquisitions and will continue to do so going forward. A recent headline-grabbing example is UK-based Liberty Global’s public plan to acquire a 71.5% stake in the Netherland’s biggest cable operator, Ziggo. The deal, which has come under anti-trust scrutiny, will help the acquirer develop its continental presence and provides the buyer with synergies with its existing telecommunications businesses in the Netherlands.

New kids on the block Deal values in the telecommunications space are large given the necessary scale of operators, and values for less capital-intensive technology companies are following suit. For instance, in February 2014, social media company Facebook announced the acquisition of mobile messaging platform Whatsapp from Sequoia

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TMT Spotlight (continued)

Capital for US$19bn. Although Whatsapp was only founded in 2009, it already has around 450m active users per month. (To give a little context as to what this figure means, Whatsapp was the fastest company to ever reach that many active users.) Whatsapp is particularly strong internationally, given that it enables users to message one another via data rather than text messages, saving users potential roaming fees. Furthermore, Whatsapp is strong within the youth market, a demographic in which Facebook has been shedding users.

Facebook also made another headline-grabbing deal that appears to be intended to help continue its relevance in the future. A month after its Whatsapp acquisition was announced, Facebook made public its plan to buy Oculus, a US-based developer of virtual reality headsets, for US$2bn. The little-known firm rose to prominence prior to the transaction by raising $2.5m on the crowdfunding platform Kickstarter – the largest campaign in the platform’s history – to further develop and eventually retail its headsets. The firm is yet to turn a profit, but Facebook sees an opportunity to invest early in a cutting-edge technology. In doing so, Facebook hopes to transform the way people experience technology, despite the fact that Facebook will be unlikely to generate any immediate or even near-term benefits from the investment.

Another major tech player, Google, has also been making a number of transactions, announcing four in 2014 to date. These deals have varied widely, from mobile gaming businesses to artificial intelligence systems. In an example of the latter, Google bought DeepMind Technologies, which aims to create computers that think like humans, from a consortium of private equity firms and private investors for US$400m. At that price, the deal numbers among Google’s biggest in Europe to

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TMT Spotlight (continued)

date and demonstrates the search engine giant’s commitment to investing early in cutting-edge technology.

Forward to the future Overall, TMT’s banner year is no fluke – activity is continually being generated and the pace of acquisitions is not slowing. The sector has helped demonstrate that although the downturn beginning in 2008 has markedly changed the economic landscape, a steady stream of M&A is still possible, and, more significantly good for businesses.

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Guest CommentExamining the French M&A Climate with BNp paribas.

There seems to be the beginnings of an M&A revival in France. Last year and 2012 were comparatively flat years, with limited appetite for dealmaking. But the climate began to improve at the end of 2013: the dealmaking pipeline was fuller than in the previous year, the general economic climate had improved, and the cost of financing remained relatively low. Crucially, corporates seemed to recognize that they needed to grow in order to stay competitive. Corporates were getting ready to start deals.

French M&A activity has accelerated in the first few months of 2014, heralding a step away from the global financial downturn’s “dark ages”. This upswing culminated in a series of mega-deals announced in the first week of April. For instance, Vivendi, the Paris-based media and telecommunications firm, sold SFR, a fixed-line telecommunications business, to Luxembourg’s ALTICE for US$23.3bn. It was exciting to see all of these deals reach the announcement stage. Importantly, these deals were driven by different rationales, with some buyers looking to find synergies, some looking to consolidate, and some simply looking to get bigger.

Much of this dealmaking is domestically driven, but France is increasingly attractive to foreign buyers, including sovereign wealth funds.

Taking a closer look, private equity (PE) activity is regaining steam. Quite a few large PE houses have raised equity lately for investments in Europe, with a likely increase in activity over the next few months. In previous years, these same houses were very picky when it came to domestic buys, and were largely looking abroad. Although the PE atmosphere is still cautious, there is a move towards greater activity.

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The re-energized IPO market is another sign that the overall climate is improving. Although we have not seen too many announced as of yet, it seems as though activity will be back in full swing by the middle of this year.

In terms of individual sectors, telecommunications has obviously been a huge part of this activity. This is the case in Europe more broadly, thanks to industry-wide consolidation and changing regulation, which is set to create a single telecommunications market in the European Union. Other sectors too have supported France’s M&A recovery including industrials, infrastructure and real estate. The consumer sector, particularly the luxury goods space – a critical one for France – has yet to come back.

This increase in activity looks set to continue, as there seems to be a number of deals in the pipeline although it’s certainly not a free-for-all.

Guest Comment (continued)

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Industry Indicators

88%70%TME:

The telecoms,media and

entertainmentsector saw a 70%year-on-year jump

in early-stageM&A.

Consumer:Consumer sector

M&A reachingthe due

diligencephase rose

88% YoY.

Financial Services:At 33%, the financial

services sector saw amarked YoY increase

in early-stage M&Aactivity tracked bythe Intralinks DFI.

33%

Life Sciences:The Intralinks DFI

tracked a 50% YoYincrease in early-stage

life sciences deals.

50%

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About the Intralinks Deal Flow Indicator

The Intralinks Deal Flow Indicator provides Intralinks’ perspective on the level of early-stage M&A activity taking place during any given period of time. The statistics contained in this report represent the volume of virtual data rooms opened, or proposed to be opened, through Intralinks or other providers for the purpose of conducting due diligence on proposed transactions including asset sales, divestitures, private placements, financings, capital raises, joint ventures and partnerships. These statistics are not adjusted for changes in Intralinks’ share of the virtual data room market or changes in market demand for virtual data room services. These statistics may not correlate to the volume of completed transactions reported by market data providers and should not be construed to represent the volume of transactions ultimately consummated during any period of time. Indications of future completed deal activity derived from the DFI are based on assumed rates of deals going from diligence stage to completion. In addition, the statistics provided by such market data providers may be compiled with a different set of transaction types than those set forth above.

This report is provided “as is” for informational purposes only. Intralinks makes no guarantee, representation or warranty of any kind regarding the timeliness, accuracy or completeness of the content of the report. This report is based on Intralinks’ observations and subjective interpretations of due diligence activity taking place, or proposed to take place, on Intralinks’ or other providers’ virtual data room platform for a limited set of transaction types. This report is not intended to be an indicator of Intralinks’ business performance or operating results for any prior or future period. This report is not intended to convey investment advice or solicit investments of any kind whatsoever.

“Intralinks” and the stylized Intralinks logo are the registered trademarks of Intralinks, Inc. The Intralinks Deal Flow Indicator may be used solely for personal, non-commercial use. The contents of this report may not be reproduced, distributed or published without the permission of Intralinks. For permission to republish Deal Flow Indicator content, please contact info@intralinks.com.

© 2014 Intralinks, Inc. All rights reserved.

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Intralinks Contacts

New York – Corporate Headquarters150 East 42nd Street 8th Floor New York, NY 10017

Tel: 212 543 7700 Fax: 212 543 7978 Email: info@intralinks.com

London

44 Featherstone Street London, EC1Y 8RN United Kingdom

Tel: +44 (0) 20 7549 5200 Fax: +44 (0) 20 7549 5201 Email: emea@intralinks.com

Singapore

Level 42 6 Battery Road Singapore 049909 Tel: +65 6232 2040

Email: asiapacific@intralinks.com

São Paulo

Rua Tenerife, 31, Bloco A, cj. 121 Vila Olímpia São Paulo, CEP 04548-040, Brasil

Tel: +55 11 4949 7700

Email: amLat@intralinks.com

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About Intralinks

The Intralinks (NYSE: IL) enterprise-wide solution empowers global companies to share content and collaborate with business partners without losing control over information. Through the Intralinks platform, companies, partners, and third parties can share and work together on even the most sensitive documents – while maintaining compliance with policies that mitigate corporate and regulatory risk. Intralinks, the undisputed market leader for deal management and virtual data room solutions, enables organizations to organize, manage, share, and track information while accelerating the deal process and improving efficiency, access, and professionalism during key phases of the transaction.

In 1997, Intralinks pioneered the use of software-as-a-service based solutions for collaboration between businesses, starting with the debt capital markets and M&A communities. In the process, Intralinks transformed the way companies work. Intralinks’ platform hosts the largest global community of dealmakers and is the most commonly used platform in the M&A market.

For more information, visit us at www.intralinks.com

About Remark

Remark, the publishing, market research and events division of The Mergermarket Group, offers a range of services that give clients the opportunity to enhance their brand profile, and to develop new business opportunities. Remark publishes over 50 thought leadership reports and holds over 70 events across the globe each year which enable its clients to demonstrate their expertise and underline their credentials in a given market, sector or product.

Remark is part of The Mergermarket Group.

To find out more, please visit www.mergermarketgroup.com/events-publications/